MSU club baseball team shoots for Regionals

Only a few high stakes games this weekend stand between the MSU club baseball team and a chance to compete in the regional tournament for the National Club baseball Association (NCBA).

The team is approaching regionals at the same time as club sports across MSU, like the women’s lacrosse and round net teams, who are staking their claim in other regional and national competitions.

Last year, the baseball team became a part of the NCBA, the governing body that oversees collegiate club baseball, for the first time.

It was also the first year the club reached regionals for the NCBA Northern Pacific East Conference. 

According to Justin Cervi, club president and first baseman, “regionals is the top two teams from our conference, and it used to be a far out goal, or just something that maybe could have happened and this year we had over 50 kids try out for the team and we have a really good group of kids, enough to where regionals has become an expectation for us, essentially.”

Cervi has high hopes for the team. “There’s a ton of players that can hit really well. And when we’re on, I feel like the players feed off each other's energy where one person gets a hit, another person gets a hit and then it’s hard to get us out after that part,” Cervi said. 

According to volunteer Head Coach Joe Hoy, the club also provides an excellent outlet for students looking to build a community around an activity they love.

“I mean, they're 21 guys, and the camaraderie and the fun that these guys have together, I don't want to say their own fraternity, but they're kind of their own fraternity,” Hoy said. 

The club hosts tryouts every fall, usually beginning about a week after school starts, and their season began in October with a two game win over Weber State in a three game series. 

Once the weather cleared up in the spring, the Bobcats played a series against the Gonzaga University Bulldogs at the end of March. They managed a remarkable comeback in the first game, where they were down seven in the final inning but ended up scoring eight runs, ultimately winning 9-8. The Bobcats came up short in the next two games, but it was still an impressive series.  

Recently, the team had an electrifying weekend in Missoula, where they dominated the Montana Grizzlies in a series victory. After winning the first game 12-4 early on Saturday, April 8, they came up short later in the day, losing 1-7. Coming back on Sunday, April 9, the team managed a decisive 21-8 victory to win the series.

Last weekend, after these exciting victories, the Bobcats played Utah State, the number one team in their conference, and unfortunately lost the series. However, hopes for regionals are still high.  

According to Hoy, whether MSU gets a spot at regionals will be decided during the team’s upcoming series against Boise State and Idaho State.

“Basically we've got to win two out of three against Boise to keep our regional hopes alive. And then the next weekend we need to beat Idaho State three times,” Hoy said.

The series against Boise State will occur this weekend on Saturday, April 22, and Sunday, April 23, at Kiwanis park in Belgrade. It will be the Bobcat’s home opener and students are encouraged to attend. 

“It should be fun, a fun atmosphere, and we’d love to see the student body turnout,” Hoy said.